This article is part of our Weekly Preview series.
This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series stays in Daytona Beach for the second event of the season, and races on the famed oval's challenging road course. This event was quickly put together when word came in December that Auto Club Speedway would not be able to host the second race of the season.
This circuit is a 14-turn, 3.61-mile long road course that is intertwined with most of the Daytona oval. The event is 70 laps, divided into three stages of 16 laps, 18 laps and 36 laps. Top speeds are higher than a normal road course due to most of the 2.5-mile oval being incorporated, but two "bus stop" style chicanes will keep the oval from being completely wide open racing. The circuit is very reminiscent of the Roval course at Charlotte that NASCAR has raced the last three seasons. That experience and familiarity should translate well to the Daytona road circuit. The teams that can navigate the challenging chicanes and stay on the infield portion of the course will collect a good finish this Sunday at Daytona. This will be the second time NASCAR's top division has raced on the Daytona Road Course in the last two weeks. For the 21 drivers who participated in the Busch Clash on February 10th, they will have a valuable leg up on the rest of the field.
Since this is just the second points race at the Daytona Road Course, we're going to be thin on historical stats for this
